TV/Radio notebook: Taking on UFC a step down for Fox

The last time mixed martial arts went on network TV, CBS ran it out of its entertainment division. Now Fox is taking on MMA and is showing it definitely considers it to be a sport.

Fox Sports Media Group on Thursday announced a multiyear agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world's top MMA organization, giving it much more exposure — and perhaps credibility.

Fox said the deal "puts UFC on par with many of the country's professional sports organizations."

UFC will show four live events in prime time or late night each year on Fox, the first airing Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.

More programming will be added starting in January. In addition to live fights, there will be pre and post shows, countdown shows, weigh-in specials and several studio shows.

Next spring, "The Ultimate Fighter," UFC's weekly reality show, will move from Spike TV to FX.

FX will show 4-6 more live events each year and there will be other shows on other cable channels, such as Fuel TV.

"Mixed martial arts is not only the fastest growing sport in the world, but also the world's most exciting form of man-to-man competition," FSMG president Eric Shanks said in a statement.

But should broadcast prime-time TV really be showing such a violent sport? Is this really the most entertaining — and beyond that, responsible — thing Fox can put on its airwaves?

Fox has gone for the least common denominator virtually every day since it went on the air, and this is just one more example.

Preseason aplenty: Of course, some would say pro football isn't a whole lot more highbrow than MMA. But at least there are helmets and pads.

Five preseason games are on this weekend (all kickoffs at 5 p.m.), starting with tonight's Atlanta-Jacksonville game on Fox. NFL Network will have a game and a half on Saturday, showing New Orleans-Houston, then joining Minnesota-Seattle in progress.

NBC will air the San Diego-Dallas game on Sunday and ESPN will have Chicago-New York Giants at 5 Monday.

In other NFL notes, Rodney Harrison has added duties on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" to his "Football Night in America" gig on NBC.

The lockout prevented any team from participating in HBO's "Hard Knocks" this season, so the network and NFL Films is putting together a "greatest hits" edition. "Hard Knocks: A Decade of NFL Training Camps" debuts at 10 p.m. Aug. 31.

Brad Nessler and Trent Dilfer will call the second game of ESPN's opening-night "Monday Night Football" doubleheader, Oakland at Denver.

The "A" team of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden will call the first game, New England-Miami.

Puck plans: The NBC Sports Group announced more than 100 NHL games will be shown between NBC and Versus (which will change its name to NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2) as part of the new 10-year contract it signed with the league earlier this year.

NBC will have a new Thanksgiving Friday game, this year between Boston and Detroit. Versus will have exclusivity on Wednesdays and added games on Sundays (some of which also will be exclusive), and a new pre- and postgame show, "NHL Live."

The two networks will show 10 games in the final seven days of the season and all playoff games will be televised nationally.

Other notes: Saturday's 1 p.m. Dodgers-Rockies game will not be televised. The game was originally scheduled to be an option for Fox to show, but the network didn't pick it, and since Fox has exclusivity for the 1-4 p.m. window on Saturdays, it can't be shown. CBS earned a 4.3 big-market rating for the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday, down 5 percent from last year, according to SportsBusiness Daily. NBC will show the women's competition of the Visa Gymnastics Championships at 8 p.m. Saturday and the men's competition at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, all tape-delayed on the West Coast.